HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive
by Sharlee Carol
Summary: (!SPOILER ALERT! PLEASE WATCH THE ORIGINAL HETAONI BEFORE READING THIS STORY) HetaOni AU. After Italy's heart stops, everyone find themselves in a panic. While the main group tries to understand the history and logic behind the mansion, each and every nation finds themselves fighting their own wars.
1. To Begin at the End

_This is a fan fiction dedicated to the ending of HetaOni. I do not own HetaOni, Hetalia, or Aoni. All rights go to their respective owners._

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_Summary (NOT a summary of all of HetaOni): Italy's heart has stopped beating. England has lost his sight due to over use of his magic. China and Russia have gone down to the annex to "solve a riddle". England, France, Canada, America, Germany, Japan, and Prussia are in the safe area. England, France, and Canada are sitting in the dining area while America, Germany, Japan, and Prussia are gathered around Italy who is in bed._

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"Now that Italy is like this Romano must be," Japan paused as he looked over Italy's still, pale face. They had laid Italy down on a bed after they had found him on the cold, hard ground of the annex. Everyone remembered it perfectly

"Italy's heart has stopped," Germany had said.

Japan's eyes were glazed over with the haze of sudden age and exhaustion.

"Brother Dearest has Spain, so he should be fine," Prussia said as he leaned onto one of the beds. Germany looked at his brother. Prussia still wore that confident smile on his face when he spoke to Japan, but he could tell that there was grief in his eyes and a kind of exhaustion that wasn't there before the mansion. Germany then turned his attention back to look at Italy then sighed. Sighing was better than suddenly going into a fit of grief.

"Shit. I wish I had a sword," Prussia mumbled.

"A sword?" Japan asked, looking up from Italy.

"Huh, you have a spare one?" Prussia straightened up.

"Yes, you can borrow it, but only if you promise to take good care of it, alright?" Japan offered.

"Yeah! I will! If it's a sword from your place," Prussia eagerly said as Japan walked over to him.

"Here you go, then. My Excalibur, the Poster Sword," Japan said as he held it in front of Prussia. Prussia hesitated as he looked at it and looked up at Japan.

"Uh, out of curiosity, what if it breaks? What would you do?" Prussia asked. Japan just laughed and smiled.

"I might just loose control of myself to the point where I can no longer distinguish between reality and fiction." Japan said this so matter-of-factually, it almost scared the albino.

"After all, it is a limited edition." Now Japan was just getting screwy. Hell, was that even a real sword?

"No, that's not what I meant. You know what, it's totally okay. I don't really need it anymore," he said, laughing uncomfortably. Japan nodded and put the sword back to his side and walked over back to Italy. America who was sitting on the bed next to Japan snickered into his glove. Germany smiled a bit at his brother's flustered reaction to Japan but then frowned again.

"So what should we do? What will we direct our focus to from now on?" Germany half-whispered, a small croak in his voice.

"We haven't decided yet. We're in a deadlock, remember? Actually, West, what do _you_ want to do?" Prussia looked at his younger brother. He had always thought of his brother before acting. Although West's personality was to be stone cold, he knew he was the of the faintest of hearts when it came to people he truly cared about, especially Italy. Germany looked at his brother then looked down, his eyes clouding over with confusion and grief.

"I-" he started.

"We have so much to do, and yet I don't know where to start," Japan finished, seeing that even Germany was having a hard time trying to get his thoughts together, "What should our priorities be?" There was a silence in the room for a moment.

"They should be 'to escape' or 'save Spain and Romano,' right?" Germany spoke softly, "But Italy is-" Germany didn't finish the sentence. Japan took in a deep breath, and America looked at everyone around him and sighed. If England had been lost instead of Italy, he would be in the exact same place as Germany and Japan.

"Damn it all," America mumbled, "How could this have happened to us? Everything was going so well, but now it's all screwed up." He clenched his fists as he looked back to the dining area where Canada, France, and England were arguing. Canada and France grabbed England by both arms and dragged him to the bathroom. Probably just a bath. Japan's eyes followed the commotion and formed a small smile then went back to looking over Italy.

"Oh, Italy's face," Japan spoke. Germany looked at him. "He dirtied it when he fell," Japan continued, "I think I have a handkerchief." Japan slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief. Germany examined it. It was pure white with a satin gloss. On it, though was already some red scribbles probably as reminders. Germany squinted his eyes to try and examine the scribbles better. It was as if a child had gotten a pen and was trying to write on it. The language was definitely not Japanese and it wasn't Japan's handwriting when trying to write English. Japan looked at it sadly then turned it over to the side of the scribbles. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his body became rigid. "Wh-What?"

"Japan?" Germany asked, "What's wrong?"

"Italy?" Japan whispered, his eyes wide as he firmly gripped the handkerchief.

"Hey, What's wrong?" Prussia asked, looking at the two in wonder.

"Italy! Italy!"

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_Ah..._

_Sometimes I can't help but wonder if this story really does have an end._

_Eh. I guess we'll find out later, won't we?_

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HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive

**Begin.**

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(Please critique on writing skills or editing marks! Thank you so much! I'm sorry if it's a little slow to pick up. This was just the introduction and what had happened before the actual fan fiction. It'll definitely get more interesting.. Credit goes to pianodream's and her colleagues' English translation for this part to help transition into this ending. Thank you for reading.)


	2. To Feel Useless

**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**To Feel Useless**

**Begin.**

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"Japan?" Germany asked, "What's wrong?"

"Italy?" Japan whispered. His eyes were wide as he firmly gripped the handkerchief.

"Hey, what's up?" Prussia asked as he looked from Germany to Japan, starting to tense and straighten up.

"Italy, wh-what?" Japan whispered to the white cloth.

"J-Japan?" Germany asked, scared to see the calm and mellow nation react so suddenly. Japan grit his teeth and seemed to be mumbling himself. He lowered the handkerchief then looked at Italy's face, his breathing becoming uneven. Suddenly, Japan pounced onto Italy's body, his voice hoarse and shaky as he spoke.

"No!" Japan cried as he grabbed the shoulders of Italy then shook him, hitting his head against the back of the bed which made a sickening thump with each collision. "Stop playing games, Italy! ITALY!" Japan cried.

"Japan!" America jumped up from the bed and wrapped his arms around the mad nation, trying to pull him away. "Japan, get a hold of yourself! Look at what you're doing!" Japan looked back at America with wide eyes outlined with the shadow of his hair. America made contact with them and was struck with shock. Japan had changed. "J-Japan," America stuttered. America shook himself free of shock and gripped harder as Japan writhed under his hold. "Dude, what happened to you?" America cried as he was smacked and punched. Japan broke free, throwing America back. As America landed onto the hard ground, he grunted, his head hitting the bed behind him, making his mind go blank and his vision turn blurry. Japan ran back over to Italy, holding onto the still nation's sleeve with shaking hands.

"Stop, Italy. Please-" Germany came up from behind and grabbed Japan by the collar then threw him away from Italy. He pinned him down by the shoulders. "No! Let go-"

"Damn it, Japan. What the hell has gotten into you?" Germany yelled as he looked into the eyes of the shaking nation. As both eyes made contact with each other, Germany gasped. Japan's usually calm, indifferent, emotionless eyes had drastically changed into two, wide, iNSanE ones. His pupils were shrunk and the color of his irises were lightened. The wrinkles under his eyes were visible and there was a horrifying gleam in his eyes. Not only did his eyes change, his whole face had altered. The blood from Japan's face seemed to have drained, making the black of his hair contrast greatly with his skin. His mouth was slightly open, allowing Germany to see the gritting teeth and the tenseness of his jaw. He looked like an animal more than a human. "Japan," Germany muttered, "What happened?"

The mad nation looked up at Germany with scared eyes then screamed and writhed. Germany, after being entranced for a moment, tried to recover from the shock of Japan's sudden transformation and continued to hold him down. "Japan! Calm yourself. Just tell us what you-" Germany grunted in pain as Japan dug then painfully raked his nails across Germany's face. Germany cried out then released his hold on Japan and brought his hands to his face, trying to sooth the scathing pain. Japan then retreated over to Italy, gripping the handkerchief so tightly that his nails almost ripped through the soft fabric.

"Italy, what are you doing?" Japan shakily asked, his voice now almost hushed a whisper, "What is it?" He suddenly cried. "What are you trying to do? Wake up!" Japan, with the mindset of a maniac, made a fist with both hands and brought them down onto Italy. "Wake up!" Another blow was given to Italy.

"Japan, stop!" America shouted despite the grogginess from hitting his head. He attempted to get up and stop the besting Italy was taking, but his strength failed him just this once, and he slumped back down, groaning. But all of the sudden the blurred Japan through America's vision calmed down and just stood still. The room had fallen silent. "What?" America muttered in disbelief. Then, Japan then fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Japan!" came Germany's muffled cry. Both America and Germany stared at Japan's still figure but then realized there was a hand at Japan's neck. "Brother?" Germany asked through his hands.

"Honestly, just try and knock him out with a pressure point." Prussia said, chuckling. He released his grip from Japan's inner shoulder then stood up straight and dusted off his clothes. America's brows furrowed as he tried to slowly sit up from the bed.

"Uncool, dude! Did you wait for him to _kill_ us until you did something?" America mumbled, rubbing the area his head had hit.

"No! I was just seriously shocked for a minute before I realized I had to save your sorry ass!" Prussia replied. America pouted and folded his arms, but then all three men looked at the unconscious heap of a nation."What had gotten into him?" Prussia mumbled.

Prussia looked at his brother then grinned. "Let me see your wounds, West." Germany slowly brought his hands down from his face and allowed his older brother to look at the scratches. Japan's nails had successfully raked across Germany's face from the top of his left eye to the bottom of his right cheek. The red streaks were apparent on his face, and there were little droplets of blood forming. Thankfully, Japan's nails managed to miss Germany's eyes.

"I'm fine, just a little startled," Germany softly said when his brother was done wiping away some blood. Taking a deep breath, Germany looked at Japan, "I want to take a look at that handkerchief immediately. Something on it triggered him. I saw some red scribbles on it. I think that maybe they were from Italy-"

"No," Prussia interrupted as he put a hand on his brother's shoulder,"All of us has had a bad day. Let's just take a rest from this for a bit, and wait until all of us return." Germany looked up at his brother, looking confused. "China and Russia are still at the annex, correct? Also, Canada and France are in the bathroom trying to wash up England, so let's all just try and relax a little. When China comes back, he can tell us what he had found in the morning. All of us can discuss after a nice period of rest, okay?" Prussia beamed down at his tense little brother. Germany wanted to argue that a resting period was the last thing they needed, that it was absurd to let their guards down, but then he looked back when America let out a pained moan.

"Japan really can be strong when he wants too," America complained, "Damn, that hurt!" America laughed and stretched his arms. Germany looked at the half-wit, expecting himself to get mad, but allowed himself to let a small half-smile slowly form on his lips. Germany's eyes examined Japan, thinking that it was true that today had been an emotionally rigged day. After clearing his throat and thinking some more, Germany turned his head to look at where Italy rested and relaxed a bit. A rest was exactly what Italy would've asked for.

_"Germany? I'm tired. Take a siesta with me?"_

Germany looked back at his brother. "Okay, then. Let us all sleep tonight and talk in the morning."

After Japan was placed in a bed next to Italy's, France had burst from the bathroom, his crotch jewels flying about like his own flag in the wind and ran over to the group exclaiming,

"What the happened? I could hear some shouts, but the Black Sheep was cursing at me loudly!" England, helped by Canada, walked over over to the group. After everyone was settled, Germany explained. England looked a little concerned when hearing about Japan's sudden mental breakdown, but an obnoxious laugh and a good bone-breaking hit on the back from America brought him back to his usual, irked self.

"You git! That hurt!" England said as he threw a punch in the air. America dodged the very lame move.

"Ha! Maybe you being blind is a good thing for me!"

"Don't make fun of my handicap!" England cried as he swung his arms in the direction America's voice was coming from.

When China returned with Russia, he was practically radiating with excitement from what he had found, but Prussia told him to wait which upset him greatly. China changed his mind, though, when Prussia told him about Japan. He immediately rushed over to Japan side while Russia darkly looked at everyone.

"What's up, Russia?" Prussia ventured. Russia looked at the albino then suddenly changed.

"Oh, nothing." Russia smiled. "I'll just be sitting over there. You said that all of us have to relax, da?" Russia walked over to one of the dining tables and examined his pipe and cane sword. Prussia curiously examined the larger nation and remembered that Canada had talked to him about Russia talking on the phone to someone. Prussia scratched his he sighed and thought that maybe he couldn't trust the larger nation fully yet. First, there was Russia's scary calm nature. Second, there was that rumor with the phone call. Prussia looked away from Russia and shook his head then walked over to the beds, seeing that everyone was ready to settle down.

.

Everyone had gone to bed. All except for Germany. Instead of going to bed, he sat at the edge of Japan's bed, looking at the unconscious nation. Japan was breathing heavily, beads of sweat forming at the crown of his head. Despite Japan's constant sweating, China had put a cool cloth on Japan, thinking that he had a fever. Germany shook his head and thought he would never understand the East's culture. Even in his sleep Japan's face was tense and trembling. He made small whimpering noises then cried out as his lips twitched. His muscles would then tense and relax. He gasped for air and gritted his teeth which made an unpleasant grinding noise. Germany clenched his fists, his heart sinking to see Japan who was usually so quiet and confident to be shaking and sweating like a scared child. Germany pried his eyes away from Japan then looked at Italy's still, pale face. The energetic Italian who always cried for his protection lay still and motionless. The hands that usually gripped a white flag were limp and placed over each other. His lips which were usually chattering away about something undoubtedly stupid were white and frozen.

_"We can be friends, right Germany?"_

_ "Germany, let's play football! Football!"_

_ "Pasta tonight, Germany?"_

_ "I want a place where all of us can sleep! There will be beds and a big kitchen, too!"_

Germany shook his head free of the memories. Right now, these sentimentalities only made him weaker and vulnerable. Germany swallowed through the lump in his throat and slowly stood up, sniffling as he walked over to Italy. He slowly peeled away the blue covers that covered Italy's boots and started to undo his shoelaces.

"What am I doing?" he muttered to himself. His hands fumbled with the laces, and he cleared his throat. He looked up at Italy's face and started to talk.

"Y-You had to do this all by yourself since the beginning of all this, huh?" Germany muttered.

Put one lace under the other then pull. "You had to learn this all by yourself without me. How did you do it?" He looked back at Italy's boots and cleared his throat again, feeling some warm tears fall down his cold cheeks.

Make two ears with both laces. Put one ear under the other then pull through. "Were you forced to discipline yourself during all those loops? Did you not sleep at all to make sure all of us were safe?"

Take the two ears again. Put one ear under the other then tighten. "None of us could protect you. In the end, it was only you who was hurt."

Onto the other shoe. "You had to be all alone, work alone just to protect us."

Slip one lace under the other. "Only God knows many loops you have gone through, how much torture you persisted through."

Make two bunny ears and slip one under the other. "Damn it"

Repeat.

"**Damn it all!**" Germany cried as he kicked Italy's be. As hard as he could, making the bed screech as it moved against the hardwood floor. Someone in the futons stirred from the noise but didn't wake up. The room then fell silent again. Germany bent over the end of the bed and put a hand over his mouth, trying to choke back sobs. From his eyes, overdue tears fell onto Italy's boots.

He stayed like this for five minutes, pure emotion wrecking him. After calming down, he sniffed and replaced the blanket over Italy's newly tied boots then sat back on the edge of Japan's bed. After wiping away tears with his sleeves and fingers, he allowed his forehead to rest on his hand. He slowly breathed in and out to try and calm himself. His eyes once again wandered to Italy and Japan. Both his friends looked so small and vulnerable. "I feel so useless, you two," Germany whimpered, his voice cracking a bit, "I feel as if I have failed you both." He took in a deep breath and started sobbing into his gloved hand. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

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HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive

"To Feel Useless"

**End.**

**Continue to Chapter 3?**


	3. To Breathe

_(Please enjoy the third chapter, and remember to critique if you have any! Danke)_

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HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive

"To Breathe"

**Begin.**

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_Somewhere in a field where the light overtakes the dark and the air is sweet. Everything is blurry, but still your heart feels warm in this place. Oh..._

_"Hey, Germany?" came his bubbly voice, pleasantly accented. _

_"Hm?"_

_"We can be friends, right?" he asked._

_There was a hesitation as you thought over this._

_"Honestly, I haven't really had friends before. __I snap a lot and get really mad, but-"_

_Once again, there was a hesitation. Then, a smile forms._

_"But I guess that's a good idea."_

_You think this over one more time._

_"Let's be friends."_

_You think the light encompasses you and the other more as you say this and smile._

_"Yay! Germany and I will be friends! You'll do your best to protect me, right?" _

_"Hey! No taking advantage of a friendship! You have to help me out when I'm in need, too." _

_"Okay, then. If you're in great danger, I'll do my best to protect you!" _

_A hazy smile formed on the other's lips. _

_"Good. Then I promise to protect you, too. When you're in need of it, I'll help you." _

_"Grazie! But enough seriousness! Let's go play football!" _

_** Germany.** Germany. Germany, let's be friends._

_** Protect.** I'll protect you, Italy. _

_ Italy... _

** Italy****.**

.

Germany slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see that he had fallen asleep kneeling on the floor next to Italy's bed. Germany sat upright, stretched and crossed his legs which scratchily ached from kneeling for so long. He rubbed his eyes free of fatigue and looked towards Italy's candlelit figure. It had been for fifteen minutes when Italy was in a state of cardiac arrest. By some miracle he had avoided death but was now in a dangerously deep coma. Germany, with an unsure hand, tenderly took Italy's arm, placed two fingers over his wrist then checked for a pulse. He relaxed when he found that a beat was still there. It was horribly faint and slow, but knowing that there was still a beat put Germany's mind at a great ease. Germany sighed and ran his hand through his loose hair, remembering what had happened not too long ago.

.

In the middle of the long night, China had gotten up to use the bathroom. As he was passing Italy's bed, he had somehow sensed a faint breathing. Crying for joy, he woke everyone up by shaking the nations up one by one and drilling them. Although everyone was grumpy for the first few, loud seconds, they perked up at hearing that Italy's heart had started to beat once again and that he was breathing. Everyone immediately surrounded Italy, giving him blessings and kisses to his forehead or a ruffle of his hair and a smile. Truly, it was a miracle. Everyone was celebrating and flailing their arms about except for Germany who just stood still, feeling as if he were encased in his own universe until Prussia rushed over and dragged Germany to Italy's side. Even then, Germany just stood in awe and knelt beside the bed.

"You know, at my place, a man woke up from a horrible coma with help from his family," America said, smiling. Even England, who couldn't see Italy's chest very faintly rise and fall smiled softly. "They held his hand like this." America demonstrated by placing Italy's limp hand in his. "Then, they squeezed it softly and asked him questions like so." America gave Italy's hand a small squeeze then spoke softly. "Hey, Italy. All of us are here surrounding you, so you aren't alone, ok? All of us want you to wake up soon." America sniffled then continued, "If you can hear us, squeeze back." There was no response, just Italy's very faint breathing.

"Idiot, of course he can't respond, he just got out of a horrible state of cardiac arrest," England muttered.

"What's cardiac arrest?" America asked. That earned him a slap on the head from France. "Ow!"

"Cardiac arrest is when your heart just stops beating all of the sudden," Canada said, laughing at America's attempts at hitting France back.

"Even if he is still alive, his brain must have suffered from much damage," China stated, "There is a very slim chance that he may actually wake up."

"At least he has gone through the darkest of the dark," Russia said, lightly ruffling Italy's hair, "so don't be such a downer, China!" Germany just knelt in silence, staring in disbelief at Italy's rising and falling chest.

"Hey, West," Prussia called. Germany was shaken from his trance and looked up at his brother in wonder.

"Hm? What?" Germany asked. Prussia started at his brother then chuckled.

"Hey, aren't you glad Italy's still alive?" Germany 's eyes widened, not sure how to answer such an easy question. Prussia smiled down at his brother and winked. Germany stared at his brother for a moment then slowly allowed his eyes to drift back to Italy. He sniffed then wiped his nose on the back of his hand.

"Yes," Germany croaked, "So unbelievably glad."

"Ah, if only Japan were awake," England sighed, "He would feel at ease, too."

"I know," Canada said as he smiled, "Let's put both of their beds next to each other."

"I got it!" America exclaimed as he picked up Japan's bed and put it down next to Italy's. Everyone looked at America with confused and blank looks on their face, but now, both beds were side by side in the corner of the sleeping area. As everyone cheered and in celebration, they felt in their hearts that Italy was going to live, that Spain and Romano could be saved from their time loop, and that they could all escape together.

"Well!" exclaimed France, "Let us all go to sleep. It is good to know that little Italy is still alive, but we still have work to do!" France said as he kissed both of Italy's cheeks, "Sleep well, Italia!" France bounced off to his own little futon on the floor. Following suit, everyone said their goodbyes and good nights to Italy and retired to their own place on the floor. Everyone but Germany and Prussia. After Prussia gave his long goodnight to Italy, he looked down at his little brother who had been still as stone.

"West?" Prussia asked. Germany blinked and looked up at Prussia.

"Hm?" Germany replied. Prussia examined the look on Germany's face.

"I'm guessing that you want to watch over him tonight? You want to be his guardian in shining armor?" Prussia asked as he chuckled. Germany glared at his brother then looked down at his hands.

"It's _knight_ in shining armor, Bruder. I don't know if I'd put it that way but I guess I do want to watch over him. For some reason, I feel as if I should stay by his side tonight," Germany said lowly. Prussia smirked and ruffled Germany's hair.

"You're awesome. Not awesome like me because that's a whole new thing, but in your own way, West, you are truly amazing." Germany looked up and smiled at his brother's comment but swatted away the hand that was messing up his hair. "Okay then," Prussia chuckled, "I'm off." Germany heard his older brother leave his side and climb into his futon, groaning and laughing to himself.

.

Germany felt himself relax as he remembered this, and after staring at Italy's still hands, he recalled America's story of how a man in the deep coma woke up. After Germany turned his head to see if anyone was awake, he cleared his throat and took in a deep breath. He took Italy's pale, left hand in his and started talking softly.

"Um, Italy," he began, "America told me this very happy story, so I'm going to try and use the trick on you, okay?" He took a deep breath. "If you can hear me or feel this, please squeeze back." Germany gave Italy's hand a light squeeze and scanned Italy's face for any sign of reaction. Nothing. Germany frowned and replaced Italy's hand to where it was. "Right," he mumbled," your brain is horribly damaged because of how long you weren't breathing." Germany paused then chucked softly as he lowered his eyes. "Not like your brain wasn't messed up already." Germany looked around the dimly lit room, took in a deep breath, rubbed his eyes, stretched his legs and started walking towards the bed where Japan was resting.

Kneeling next to Japan's bed was China peacefully sleeping with his hair down. China snored softly with his head buried in an arm while his long, black hair cascaded down his face, shadowing him from the candlelight, and Germany saw that China had a comforting hand on Japan's trembling, tense one. Apparently, Japan was still gripping tightly to the handkerchief, his nails digging into his skin. As Germany examined Japan's face, he saw that Japan was still restless, but at least he wasn't as bad as before. Japan wasn't crying aloud or gritting his teeth anymore. Now, his lips trembled slightly as his hands shook. Germany took the cloth off of Japan's forehead and decided to replace it. After wringing it out and gently placing the fresh cloth on his forehead, he decided to go to the washroom to wash his face before replacing himself next to Italy again.

As Germany neared the washroom, he heard a hushed voice talking. Germany froze in his steps, furrowed his brow and swallowed. His mind starting to buzz with questions as he stepped silently into the washroom.

"Yes, he had some sort of a breakdown," said the strongly accented voice. Germany's eyes widened. Who in the world was _Russia_ talking to? Maybe it was his sister who was checking up on him, but how in the world did he get the connection? "Yes, he had a handkerchief in his pocket then all of the sudden went all out of the sorts when he saw it. He acted like a mad man." There was a pause as Russia listened to the voice in his phone. "No, you're not dead." Germany inhaled sharply. What? Russia laughed and just kept on talking. He talked in depth about what had happened with Japan then Italy. For some reason, hearing Russia tell this mystery caller what had happened made Germany feel angry. He felt as if other people shouldn't know about this private happenings. Germany grit his teeth and stood up straight. Who was this person that Russia was talking to? Germany started rushing towards the larger nation.

"Russia!" Germany yelled. Russia, eyes wide, turned to see Germany rush at him.

"What-" Russia was interrupted as the phone was snatched out of his hands. "Germany, what in the world are you-"

"Hello?" Germany barked into the phone, "Who is this?" Russia stood in shock for a moment as he looked at Germany. Both of them stood in silence for a moment both of them staring down each other. Germany yelled into the phone once again. "Who are you?" After a short while, he heard a small sniffle and a weak reply. Germany's eyes widened as he heard the caller speak. "Wh-What was that? Germany stuttered. He let the phone slip from between his fingers. As the phone hit the floor, it clacked then rattled. Germany grit his teeth and grabbed his head in confusion.

"What?" Russia coolly asked. Germany put his hands back down to his sides and glared at Russia.

"You," Germany growled. Russia tilted his head at Germany. "You bastard!" Germany cried at the top of his lungs as he rushed towards Russia. With a fist, he nailed Russia at the jaw. Russia fell back with wide eyes and gripped his cheek. He looked back at Germany with wide eyes. With a sudden rage fueling him, Russia kicked Germany in the stomach, sending the nation flying towards a smaller section of the washroom. After feeling weightless for a second, he hit his head against the wall then fell into an empty bathtub. Groaning, Germany slowly got up and spit.

"What is up with the hostility all of the sudden?" Russia asked, rubbing his cheek, "It was out of the blue and really hurt." Germany glared at Russia

"Why were you talking to him? _How _were you talking to him?" Germany growled.

"Oh, I didn't do the calling. He did first," Russia replied, "I've gotten multiple calls actually. At first I was confused but gradually understood. Sometimes, they died, so I didn't get calls for days. In the end, I think that talking to him may be the only way." Russia smiled innocently. With indescribable, blinding rage, Germany tackled Russia, and both fell with Germany on top.

"Why were you telling him all that?" Germany demanded. He grabbed Russia's shirt and shook him. He growled through gritted teeth. "Tell me!"

"You're making me angry, Germany," Russia mumbled as he kicked Germany off of him. As Germany landed, he grunted and felt the wind escape his lungs. "Damn it," Germany hoarsely hissed. Russia stood up and bent over the growling nation.

"Let me do some of my own things, and you do yours, da?" Russia asked, a shadow looming over his face. "I''m trying to work for a way to get us all out alive, too. Why are you so upset about it? Is it just your blindly angry ways? Are you still upset about Italy and Japan?" Germany grit his teeth, grabbed Russia's foot and kicked him down, causing Russia to knock down a shelf and have its contents hit the floor loudly.

"What the hell is going on here?" America cried as he ran into the washroom. He saw both nations on the floor, ripping at each others faces.

"West!" Prussia cried, pushing past America. America wrapped his arms around Russia and tried pulling him away from Germany while Prussia pried his brother away from the tussle.

"Him!" Germany rasped as he wiped the blood from his nose, "He. Talked to-" Germany paused and realized that he couldn't finish his thought, for he himself couldn't believe what he had just witnessed with Russia. What had made him so mad? Why was he acting this way?

"What? Dude, Germany, calm down! Russia, what happened?" America looked at Russia who just glared back at him. Russia looked at everyone who had entered the washroom and wiped away the blood coming from his nose.

"I have nothing of the importance to say," he simply stated as he broke away from America's grip and pushed through the crowd which gathered at the entrance of the washroom. Canada looked at Russia and shied away from his glare. He felt as if he had something to do with it.

"Germany, what happened?" America asked, after Russia left. With wide, blank eyes, it was obvious that Germany was deep in thought. He absolutely refused to speak in front of everyone, so Prussia and Canada cleaned and dressed Germany's wounds after America thought it impossible to interrogate any information from him.

"Impossible. It's totally impossible. How could he possibly be talking to him?" Germany murmured. He shook his head and leaned onto his brother for support. Prussia looked down worriedly at his brother as he put a small band aid on his forehead.

"Hey, Canada?" Prussia asked. Canada looked up at Prussia, blue eyes sparkling

"Hm?" he replied.

"Was that what you were talking about?" Prussia asked. Canada nodded slowly.

"Any idea who it is?" Canada just shook his head sadly. Prussia sighed and looked down at his exhausted brother.

"It's okay. We'll know for sure later."

Meanwhile, in the main room, Russia sat down on one of the dining tables and wiped away the blood that was pooling on his face with his sleeve. He started cursing under his breath.

"Russia." Russia stopped cursing and looked up from the table to see China, his face plastered with worry. It was obvious China had taken a rough beating physically. His shoulders sagged and there were dark bags under his eyes.

"What is the matter?" Russia asked.

"What happened? They say you were talking on the phone with someone that wasn't one of your sisters. If you have something on your mind, you could tell me." Russia looked at China for a minute then laughed. China looked at him, confused.

"You wouldn't understand," Russia said softly, making nonsense patterns on the table with his finger. The corners of his mouth raised a little. "No, none of you could possibly understand."

* * *

HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive

"To Breathe"

**End.**

**Continue to Chapter 4?**


	4. To Gather

_((So, so sorry for the wait! I forgot how hard I had to work for school. Anyways, here is Chapter 4, so please enjoy!))_

* * *

__**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**"To Gather"**

**Begin.**

* * *

After the debacle with Germany and Russia, it was impossible for anyone to sleep through the rest of the night, so everyone hung around and talked for a bit before leaving for the annex. America, who was trying to interrogate Germany after he was bandaged, was exhausted. The stubborn, tight-lipped German didn't speak a single word that helped America figure out what had started the sudden violence between him and Russia. As America sat down on a box full of tomatoes near the kitchen, he looked at Germany, seeing the weary man replace himself next to Italy, folding his arms on the bed then burying his head in them. As Germany rested, Prussia walked over to his younger brother then patted and rubbed his back soothingly. America sighed and rubbed his aching neck then bent over to stare at the floor. So much had happened in so little time. First, Mr. Gentleman had gone blind trying to show off. Second, Spain and Romano are trapped in another time loop with Romano most likely weakened because of his brother's state. Lastly, Italy, who had the most knowledge of this place and the many time loops, was unconscious and is most likely going to die. America groaned and rubbed his face.

"Oh, what a pain it is for a hero to have to help solve such issues," he muttered through his hands.

He took off his glasses and shook his head, allowing some of his honey fringe to fly from his eyes. Then, he tried getting such stressful thoughts out of his mind. He knew that if he kept thinking like this, he would become seriously depressed. Plus, what kind of hero would he be if he were such a downer?

He stretched to get some life back into his body then looked around as he put on his glasses. He was now absolutely bored. As he scanned the room, he eyed China who was kneeling at Japan's side with his head resting on the bed. With a grin, America stood up and bound over to the two of them.

"Hey, China, what's up?" America called brightly as he pushed his silver-framed glasses up. Grimacing at the greeting, China slowly looked up and squinted through the sleep haze that blurred his vision.

"Oh, it's just you, America," China muttered. America made a sarcastic-childish frown face.

"Hey! That's not nice," America pouted. China rolled his eyes in reply to America's act. China then looked at Japan when he suddenly tensed up and shivered. "I see he's still restless," America said his face becoming a little grave, but then he grinned, "It does look like he's getting better, though."

China smiled and nodded his head, his eyes still fixed on Japan. America looked to China, exhaled through his nose then examined Japan. There was a cool, white cloth placed under Japan's black bangs. As Japan's arm's kept tensing up, his right hand was kept closed in a tight fist while his left was placed over it. America could see the unconscious nation's lips tremble as he muttered gibberish, and on closer examination America could see some white and red cloth sticking out from Japan's fist. "Whoa, wait, Japan is still clutching pretty tightly to that handkerchief. You know the one that Germany said that might have set him off on that weird, crazed rampage." America looked to China. "Do you think you could relax his hands with your weird Chinese voodoo?" China's eye twitched.

"It's not voodoo! If you're looking for black magic, try England, aru," China puffed. He angrily poked the area between America's eyes then slowly drew in a deep breath. "Anyways, that handkerchief you were talking about. I could try and get that for you using massage techniques," China explained as he tenderly took Japan's right hand and started massaging it deeply with two fingers, hoping to loosen up the muscles.

"Thanks a bunch China," America said. He sat on Japan's bed and watched China's nimble fingers work into Japan's fist. He started looking at the loose piece of white and red cloth hanging from Japan's hand and thought for a moment. "You know, I wonder what set him off." America paused for a moment and went pale. "Hey, maybe it wasn't the handkerchief. Instead, it was some kind of ghost. This is a haunted mansion, right? Ugh, dude! There is no way that there aren't ghosts here along with that weird monster chasing us around! What if some ghost possessed Japan? I mean like-"

"That's absurd," China interrupted, frowning at these very upsetting theories. "I do not believe there are any ghosts or spirits around here, aru. If there were any, they would've already taken advantage. There were plenty of times where our souls were wide open for possession, and nothing has happened yet. Even so, I have many charms pasted onto my body, but your thinking of Japan seeing a spirit may be a little more logical. When he was a bit younger, Japan used to be able to see gods and demons. I remember he used to talk about a 'Tengu.'"

"Tengu?" cried England from across the room, "Did I hear you correctly, China? Oi, Canada, could you help me?" Canada stood up and took England's hand, leading the blind Englishman over to Japan's bed. "Tengu? Like Tengu's Chair Tengu?"

"Yes, England, Tengu's Chair Tengu. What? Do you know him?" America asked.

"Well, yes I do! In fact, I think we took a bath together!" England said. America made a face. "You do that kind of thing in Japan, idiot," England said, his sixth sense telling about America's change in facial expression. "Plus, it's not like you didn't take baths with me when you were-"

"Okay, subject change!" America chimed as he whacked England with one of his leather gloves.

"Hey, you bastard!" England cried as he swatted his arm around. America laughed and dodged the throws.

"Back onto the topic, what about Tengu, aru?" China asked as he continued massaging Japan's hand, feeling the hand slowly relax. England calmed down and responded in the direction of China's voice.

"Well, when I met Tengu he told me that Japan used to be able to see things like I can," England said.

"_Could_," Canada corrected. England just frowned and shook his head. America sighed and looked away.

"So he could see freaky elves and bearded ladies, too?" America smirked.

"They're not freaky!" England cried as he swatted America.

"Ouch!"

"Anyways, do you think Japan's past abilities may have played some part in it?" England asked.

"It is a definite possibility. We still aren't totally sure, so it would be rash to jump to that conclusion. After all, it has been a long time since he could see spirits and visions like you," China replied. America's eyes widened then sparkled. He turned his head back to the group.

"Wait," America thought aloud, "Remember how Japan could somehow see those visions? Like what had happened from the past time loops? Get this. Since he was forced to remember the past time loops, it triggered or maybe even _reawakened_ his seeing ability, and when I say 'seeing ability,' I mean the same 'seeing ability' as England, the kind where you can see the ghosts and fairies, maybe even _visions_. So therefore, when Japan took out that handkerchief, he saw something because of his reawakened ability, but what? He did cry out 'Italy' quite a few times. In fact, he was talking to Italy, so it is highly likely, no, it is _fact_ that the vision had to do with Italy. But what could Italy have done that was relevant, though? How did Japan see it in that _handkerchief_? Oh, wait! Germany said that there was some kind of red ink on it, correct? Maybe it was some kind of message from Italy to Japan!" America spoke these last few sentences so fast and so professionally, but then snapped out of thinking mode and looked around. England, Canada, and China stared silently at him, their mouths slightly agape. "What?" America laughed, "You guys look totally dumfounded!"

"Well, all that you said is a definite possibility," England murmured, "I just didn't expect such a complex theory to come from you."

"Whatever!" America retorted, "I feel as if you guys always forget that I have a brain too."

"It's just hard to tell whether you have one or not," England coolly replied. America furrowed his brow, pouted, and hit the Englishman with his leather glove.

"Oi! That hurt, wanker!" England cried.

"Hey, guys, calm down!" Canada said as he stood in between America and England.

"Hey, everyone, his hand has relaxed enough for us to get the handkerchief!" China exclaimed. Everyone, including France, Russia, Germany, and Prussia stopped what they were doing and gathered around. China carefully pulled the handkerchief from Japan's grip and held it up on the side with brown scribbles for everyone to see.

"Wait," Germany interrupted as everyone examined the handkerchief in silence, "Those scribbles used to be red." Germany muttered. Everyone looked at Germany then back at the handkerchief.

"So it was blood?" England muttered, "I don't remember Japan using that handkerchief to help anyone with their wounds."

"If it helps, I haven't seen Japan help with wounds at all," Russia chimed in. Everyone sat in silence.

"Also, they look more like illegible scribbling than actual words," America commented. Germany squint his eyes as he examined the handkerchief. For some reason, the brown chicken scratching looked very, very familiar to him, but he couldn't exactly put his finger on it. He relaxed then just shrugged his shoulders.

"China," Germany said. China looked at him. "May I take possession of the handkerchief for a bit?" Germany asked. China hesitated and looked into Germany's cold, blue eyes. China felt himself relax as he found a dark shadow behind Germany's cold front. China just nodded held out the handkerchief to Germany who took it in his larger hands. He looked at it for a bit. Yes, the brown scribbling was definitely familiar. He sighed as he folded up the handkerchief neatly and put it in his pocket.

"Alright, then, so is everyone already all rested up?" America asked, "because morning is here! It's time to go to the annex!"

* * *

**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**"To Gather"**

**End.**

**Continue to Chapter 5?**


	5. To Depart

_So, so sorry that I didn't post a chapter last week! I think I underestimated schoolwork and my creative writing process. I've decided I'll do my best to keep this updated, but it won't be weekly. Thank you all for your cooperation. You guys rock! Please enjoy the 5th chapter!_

* * *

**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**"To Depart"**

**Begin.**

* * *

"Whoa! Hey, that's my head, not the next bar!" America called as he felt the bottom of a shoe nestle itself on his hair.

"Sorry, but you're American butt is so slow I have to step on you," France muttered.

"Please be quiet. What if the monster hears us?" Canada said, looking down at the two nations from the top of the ladder.

"Enough, aru!" China hissed from the bottom of the ladder, "You guys are so slow. The thing I found might have already been snatched up by that monster if all of you keep going at this pace." After a minute or two, the group had hopped off the ladder. They all looked around in the dank, musty, somewhat foggy level of the house. Germany shivered.

"It's cold," he muttered. China looked around, sniffed a bit then frowned.

"Yes. It is definitely colder than the last time I came here," China murmured, "But we can't let that stop us, aru. Let us at least continue with caution."

"Why does England not get to come? This place suits is tacky, dark, and cold like he is," France sighed.

"He's still somewhat handicapped, remember?" America replied, "Heck, even him being blind can't be all by his lonesome, so we left Prussia back there too, right?" America looked to Germany. Germany just nodded back at him. "Plus, without his magic, he's a huge, loud target." As he said this, America suddenly remembered departing from England and Prussia and snickered into his glove at the memory.

.

"I insist on coming with you!"

"Whoa! Dude, did your voice get louder to make up for your lost

eyesight?" England grit his teeth angrily and clenched his fist.

"Why you!" England cried as he managed to successfully hit America on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't abuse me!" America cried, superficiality and sarcasm in his voice. England rolled his eyes then looked sternly to America's color blur.

"I'll have you know that I can feel my vision returning. Even though it's horribly blurry and dark, I can now vaguely see the outlines of your stupid face!" England spat. After the caustic remark, America stared at the boiling nation in disbelief and excitement. Good, at least England's sight was returning. America sighed and scratched his head.

"Hey, England, I'm not preventing you from going just because you're semi-blind and all your magic is lost," America said lowly. He put a hand on England's shoulder. Then, he slowly gave a wide grin. "You have to stay here with Japan and Italy. They need your motherly instinct to take care of them in case something bad happens. You'll be here to protect and take care of them, right?" At hearing this, England relaxed and fell silent. For a long moment, he just frowned at America, thinking. Then, he looked to the side out of embarrassment of finally giving up on going.

"Fine," England muttered as he drew in a long sigh, "I'll stay for them." America's grin grew even brighter,

"Ha! I knew you would! You're the best!" America beamed. England smiled a bit at this comment and turned away as America started bounding towards the exit. "Oh, by the way, Prussia is staying with you guys too." England perked up at this and looked back in the direction of America.

"Wait, why?"

"Well, it's because someone needs to look after you too. Can't have a semi-blind English dude getting into trouble again." England's eyes widened.

"Wait, then what's the point of me staying to look after Japan and Italy if Prussia is going to stay? I'm coming with you!" England said as he started walking briskly in the direction of America.

"Prussia, can you hold back England for me?" America called.

"Alright!" Prussia replied. As England tried scrambling towards America, he felt two arms tightly wrap around from under his shoulders.

"Hey, thanks, Prussia! We'll be back in a few, and I promise. Keep an eye on the gentleman for me," America called as he ran towards the exit. Prussia chuckled.

"Will do! Take care of mien bruder too, alright?"

"Yup!" America threw Prussia a thumbs up as he ran down the stairs.

"Get back here so I can beat out all the burgers you've ever eaten, you idiot!" England cried before America slammed then locked the iron door.

.

America couldn't stop smiling at how funny England's face was when he found out that he deceived him.

"Let's stop fooling around and follow China before he loses his cool," Russia murmured. He followed China out of the room, and everyone else just filed in a line after him.

The annex floor was a huge outlier compared to the rest of the house with its very dim, grave, suspecting appearance. Bony fog fingers crept through the air quietly, finding their way through the warmth of a body, and if one were to look at the walls, it was evident that they were un-cared for with cracks and traces of brick support. The floor was cement, while the ceiling was unfinished and low. Pipes and dangling chords hung, sometimes swaying due to an unknown force, and the air was dank, musty, heavy just as any basement would be. There was something, though. Some _presence_ that made a person feel prone to a force. It makes a person cringe. It would make the blood under the skin boil, make the tips of hairs stand and fingers twitch.

Canada felt as if something crawled down his back and shivered. As they all went through the hall, China slowly opened the old, white door at the end of the hall for all of them to file through. When America had stepped in, he drank in the sight of the grim room. As they did before, the grey bookshelves easily rested exactly as they did when they last came here, and near them, the old, rotting table and chairs sat. This was the room where England had lost his sight, where Italy had fallen without a pulse or a trace of life. As he looked over the features of the room, America heard France, who had walked up next to him, inhale deeply through his nose.

"I hate this place," France breathed, "It doesn't feel right. It is as if something extraordinary is hiding behind such an innocent scene." America chuckled, not at France, but at how similarly both of them felt about the place.

"I do, too," America muttered.

As the two nations looked over the room, China walked around to the front of the door of the storage room where Italy had collapsed in.

"Over here!" he called. As everyone gathered around China, he pointed to the dirty, wooden object lying on the floor. America frowned as he crouched down to examine the object.

"It looks like some sort of lever piece," he said, "What's a lever piece doing here?" He paused as he examined it, having his head move from left to right. "Does anyone know what it's for?" Once again, there was a pause as everyone thought in silence.

"Actually," Russia piped up, "I think I know where it goes. There is another room on this floor with a broken lever mechanism. I found it while wandering around yesterday." Germany perked up at Russia's comment.

"Oh, I think I remember hearing my brother talking about it after exploring this place with Romano," Germany said.

"Well then, I think we're getting a little closer to solving the purpose for this annex!" America laughed. "Alright, let's go see if this piece fits into that broken lever contraption." France bent down to pick up the lever piece but almost dropped it with a cry of disgust.

"With a closer look, one realizes how dirty and disgusting this piece really is! Ugh, it's rank too," he said sourly, "Look at it! It's caked in dried blood, and the wood feels moist. Along with that, I think there are bite marks on it." America burst into laughter, but Russia, bending over, observed it carefully with his gentle, violet eyes.

"It looks like we missed some details on it, too," Russia murmured, "There are some words carved into the handle." France looked at Russia then back to the filthy piece.

"You're right," France said in wonder. He squinted his eyes to look at the carved letters better. "'Down for Hell' is what it says."

"Sounds familiar," Germany thought aloud, "It sounds similar to the riddle for the lever on one of the upper levels. 'Up for Heaven, middle for Earth, and Down for Hell' is what it said. The correct direction for that riddle was 'Down for Hell.'"

"Like it says on this handle, huh?" Canada muttered, "but I don't recall the other handle having any carvings on it."

"Hey, we'll talk over that later, alright? First, let's see if that lever piece really is the piece for that contraption!" America called as he started to walk towards the room's exit. Everyone followed him back into the hall and then turned to another room on their right.

"Oh yeah. It's this room," Canada murmured as he felt a shiver run down his spine, "I don't really like this place."

"Relax! Doesn't seem like the monster is here," America reassured. He looked around and spotted a lever contraption without its handle. "Ha! There it is!" America ran over to it and jammed the handle in. When he brought his hand away from it, it was in place.

"So that wooden thing really was the piece to that puzzle," China said. "Now the new problem we face is which direction we should pull it."

"Well, I think I've got this already figured out," Canada spoke up. Everyone's head turned to look at him. America stared at Canada, his lips pursed.

"You know, it seems like you're the one always somehow solving the puzzles. First with the piano, second with the blood clock, now this," Russia said with a suspicious tone. Canada looked at Russia then laughed, a tint of nervousness in his voice.

"Well, it's weird, but I feel like I've solved them all before. I can't remember how much puzzles we need to solve, but I remember how to do them," Canada replied. Russia shrugged and stayed silent

"Anyways, what was it that you were going to tell us?" France asked.

"Well, this house is kind of backwards when you think of it, correct? For example, how time is messed up and only goes back to normal when we break clocks. On the first lever Germany said he encountered, the correct way to pull it was 'Down for Hell' even though he was on one of the upper levels and maybe that Hell was the opposite of what the room or floor looked like. Since the precedence of backwardness has already been set and since the level we are in is like Hell more than Heaven, it seems like it would be logical that the correct way to pull this lever is up for Heaven."

"Sounds backed up," Germany murmured.

"Yes, I think I can agree with that logic, aru." Canada smiled at the support.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's try it," France said as he walked over to the lever and pushed it upwards. Everyone waited in suspense.

Nothing happened.

"What? Nothing happened? How boring," Russia said as he frowned. China sighed.

"Oh, well. It looks like the lever is broken," China sighed. Everybody shrugged and started for the door, but just then, the ground rumbled.

"Whoa, who was that?" America laughed. Everyone looked around, concerned.

"Maybe an earthquake?" Canada muttered. The floor rumbled again, the shaking a bit more violent then stopped all of the sudden. Everyone looked to each other, clearly panicked. Crack. America looked down at the ground, seeing the gash on the floor. His eyes widened.

"Everyone, out!" America yelled. France was nearest to the door and tried it.

"No good, it's locked!" France called back. Everyone, horrified, started backing up towards the wall. They felt tossed around as the unsteady ground growled and jerked. Canada started crouching into the corner of the room, shielding his head with his arms, his body facing the wall, and he felt his back get bombarded with pebbles and small rocks.

The room had started caving in at the center, and the foundations seemed to groan from the violent shakes. The rumbling grew louder as the shocks began to heighten, and eventually, Canada would feel his insides churning inside of him.

Then, silence. Stillness. After his senses were cleared up a bit, Canada had felt the room freeze. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing some dust falling of his blonde bangs. Coughing from inhaling the excited debris flying through the air, he stood up slowly and dusted off his clothes, sending clouds of dust and dirt flying. Coughing heavily into his arm, he looked to everyone else who was groaning from dizziness that the havoc had caused. Then, he slowly turned to the center of the room. His eyes went wide.

In the middle of the room was a roughly carved out staircase made from what used to be the cement floor. It seemed to slope down into an entirely different level. Canada tried squinting his eyes to see if he could see any farther down the staircase, but it was no use. It was pitch black and foggy.

"Guys," he wheezed. He watched everyone recover from the shock. America who was groaning coughed into his glove and wearily stood up and walked over.

"What's up?" America asked hoarsely. Canada gestured to the newly created hole in the ground. America's eyes widened. Everyone else, weary, gathered around.

"A staircase?" Germany muttered.

"Wonder where it leads too," China said, lowly. Russia darkly looked at the hole and forced himself to turn away from it. He clenched his fists and walked back to the corner of the room.

"Do you think the Prussia and England felt the rumbling too?" France asked.

"They had to. I can't possibly think how they couldn't," Germany replied. France sighed and walked back to the door and tried it. It wouldn't budge. France kept silent and looked at the door again. It was different than the last time he looked at it.

"The door," he said in disbelief, "It's not a door anymore." Everyone looked at France then the door. Germany walked over to it and examined it.

"He's right," he breathed.

"So no looking back, huh?" America sighed. Canada furrowed his brow and kept staring at the hole. He felt as if there was something that the darkest parts of his mind wasn't telling him. It was the same with the riddles, but somehow, he couldn't exactly put his finger on what was supposed to happen next.

Then, his eyes widened.

"Wait! Everyone, there's-.."

A loud, piercing cry interrupted him mid-sentence.

Canada's eyes widened and felt his entire body vibrate as the screech reached the room. As if life had somehow gone into slow motion, he saw everyone clutch their ears and fall to the ground, screaming, crouching, but for some reason, the loud cry didn't hurt him. He felt it rattle his bones and shake his entire body, nut the sound seemed to have made the air heavier and he felt his knees buckle. As his legs gave way, he fell to the floor, eyes wide, crying out something that even he himself didn't know. Trying to overcome the great difficulty the screech was putting on him, he looked around and saw everyone else on the floor, curled up into tight balls. Canada closed his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist, experiencing his body vibrate against the ground which he felt grow hot. His ears rung with the screech and eventually, after what seemed like a long while, he felt his ears become dull to the horrible noise and his body grow limp and weary.

"Stop this."

.

England sat on Japan's bed, his hand on Japan's twitching ones. England felt Japan's body twitch and shiver as his murmuring and cries split the ringing silence of the room.

"How's he holding up?" he heard Prussia's call from the kitchen. England frowned.

"Not so well. In fact, I think he's grown considerably worse compared to when the group had left." Prussia walked into the sectioned off bed section with a cool cloth and placed it under Japan's bangs. "How about Italy?"

"Checked him right after they left. He's fine. Heart beat is still very faint, but at least he's somewhat there," Prussia muttered, "Anyways, how's your sight?" England sighed.

"I can barely see blurs of color," he replied simply. Prussia shrugged.

"We'll, need all we can get!" Prussia said. England felt Japan's hand dramatically twitch and let out a cry then whimper. The ground rumbled a bit.

"What?" Prussia mumbled as he looked around. England looked around, his eyes wide and panicked. The rumbling started getting more violent, Prussia starting to feel as if his stomach was churning in his body. "Just hold on!" Prussia cried, to England, but the blonde nation just sat there, his blue eyes wide and gleaming with what seemed to be fear. "Hey, are you alright?" No response. The ground shook even harder. "Hey!"

Suddenly, a large shriek pierced the air, almost splitting Prussia's ear drums. Prussia screamed in pain and covered his ears. In the horrible screech, he couldn't even hear his own scream. He looked up at England who just sat there, eyes wide. Prussia removed his hands away from his ears, finding blood on his fingers. "Damn," he thought. The screech was drowning out even his thoughts. Prussia grabbed England by his shoulders and shook him, trying to yell at him to snap out of it, but he saw something behind England move. Prussia's eyes widened.

Japan as sitting upright in bed, his mouth open and his hands gripping the sheets. Japan slowly turned his head to Prussia and that was when he saw it. Two, ice, white eyes with red characters marked in the irises. Japan rose his hands to his head, and somehow, his voice carried out louder than the screech.

**"Get him out! Get them out!"**

* * *

**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**"To Be Trapped"**

**End.**

**Continue To Chapter 6?**


	6. To Despise One's Shadow

**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**"To Despise One's Shadow"**

**Begin.**

* * *

Some time ago...

"Hey, England," came a light, Latin-accented voice. Finding his way out of his trance, England heavily sighed and slowly looked up from examining the radiating lumps of warm, pale-yellow magic. Standing in front of the dining table, he saw Spain, awkwardly fidgeting and shifting in the Englishman's presence. His amazon-green irises were glancing to the side avoiding his.

"Yes? What'll it be, Spaniard?" England muttered as he went back to examining the scintillating star-dust lumps. He picked up a pinch between his gloved thumb and index finger. Spain sucked in a deep breath and folded his arms, his eyes still fixed on anything but the man in front of him.

"Romano and I want to go look at the second time loop," he began, "He's getting a bit nervous about that certain one. He says it's where he gets some of the strangest memories from Veneziano." Spain's eyes shifted towards the bed area. Leaning against the wall separating the futons and the kitchen was the blank faced but apparently worried Romano. To Spain, the boy's whitened and dull green eyes and even paler frown gave him away as a broken man, but when England turned his head to look Romano's way he only saw the usual, frustrated Italian. Shrugging, England turned back to the lump. Spain, snapping his head back to England, finally tried looking straight into his old, feared foe. "Please, will you take us there?" There was a pause as England thoughtfully played with the obviously glowing, sun-colored dust.

"I guess," England replied simply. Spain sighed and scratched his head as his eyes retreated back to looking at the floor.

"England," he said lowly but strongly, "I know we haven't had the best relationship before, but please, we all made the pact to help each other, right? The both of us definately can despise each other as countries, but as people maybe we can think for ourselves and maybe start a friendship?" Spain tried to say more but trailed off. Trying to lift his chin, his eyes rested heavily on the focused Englishman. "Please, Arthur, can you help a man out?" Spain projected. Taking in a deep breath through his mouth, England rested his elbows on the table, put his hands together, and leaned his head against them. He sat like this for moments, moments, ticking moments.

He slammed his hands down, hard onto the table and energetically stood up, raising his chin. He stepped out and walked around the table, stiffly. Then, he stopped some ways away from the entrance to the baths. Spain's head just followed the absurd man's movements, confused. Loosening his collar, the gentleman cleared his throat. Then, as the room seemed to dim, Spain watched as England started lowly muttering.

In his left hand that was slowly raising and opening, a black, leather book appeared, rested heavily on the palm, and flittered open, shuffling to a page printed with indescribable characters. Then, raising his right, England's right arm started to radiate a dull yellow aura. As the Brit's accented, harsh chanting continued to hammer at Spain's ears, a star inscribed in a black circle started carving itself painfully into the wood of the floor. Then, after a single, cried word, the symbol burst into climbing fingers of dark purple that morphed into yellow then went clear. As everything settled down, Spain saw that the room had flooded back with light and on the ground was a black, pulsing symbol. England, his book and aura gone, stretched his neck from side to side then turned to Spain.

"There you go," he said. "Now, in order to work it, step in and have the man think his hardest of the memories of the second time loop. It should be able to take you there." England pursed his thin lips, crossed his arms, and looked away from the Spaniard. "You know, this circle took a considerable amount of magic, so you idiots better use it wisely." Spain's eyes sparkled.

"Oh, thank you England, sir! You really aren't that bad, huh?" Spain laughed warmly and slapped England on the back, producing a grunt from the gentleman. With a bounce in his step, Spain ran over to Romano, babbling happily. At first, the Italian boy looked a bit startled, but England, closely observing the boy's face, somehow managed to see Romano's filmy, clouded eyes suddenly vividly clear up with relief and maybe even gratefulness.

A corner of England's lip twitched upwards a bit as he watched Spain and Romano walk into the futon area, Spain bubbling over with happiness while Romano waved away his enthusiasm. Then, in the midst of his self-content, there came a warm, annoyingly flirtatious presence quickly approaching from behind.

"Well, who knew the Black Sheep could be so nice?" France exclaimed happily as he threw an arm around the nation. At France's touch, England bristled and broke away away.

"Of course I can be nice!" the gentleman spat. France smiled and shrugged.

"By the way," France said, "Why is your magic such an icky yellow color all of the sudden? It used to be a gorgeous green, correct?" England rolled his eyes and chuckled as he left France's side and sat back down onto the dining table, a sly smile on his lips.

"There is a reason for everything, Frog," was all he said. France just looked wonderingly at England and pondered over the Englishman's answer, but after realizing that there was nothing more to ask, he shrugged and walked off.

"Augh! You are so boring!" France cried back to England. "You know, being a changed human you're still the same dull being!"

"Whatever, Frenchie," England retorted. The Frenchman just replied with a laugh and disappeared into the kitchen. Shaking his head, England felt his own smile starting to come on, but before he could he felt a cold, spiny shiver run down his back. The hairs at the back if his neck stood up and pricked his good nature. "Well, now, what is this?" he muttered. He tried shaking out the shiver and started rubbing his arms littered with goosebumps. "An intuition?" England, something clicking in his mind, glanced to the black symbol on the floor. After allowing his mind to buzz on the subject, he just nervously laughed and shook his head. "Shouldn't be anything too serious. After all, everything is going over so well," he whispered to himself. Then, biting his lip, England thought for a moment. "Right?" Shakily letting out a cold breath, England did his best to shrug off the creeping feeling, stand up, and walk to join France in the kitchen.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be anything too serious."

"I am useless. I'm done," was all England's mind could buzz with. With his eyes now a filmy green and blank, his posture wilted, and face pale, England's sight bathed in the never ending void that his nonexistent sight had left for him. He was so stupid. He was an idiot. What a despicable being he was. Despicable, stupid, idiotic, useless... No, that man that walked down to the annexe wasn't him. It couldn't have been him. Then, what had come over him? What had driven him to rashly prove to America he could be strong?

What was the Reason?

WHaT? Wait. Yes, he could try to remember Why. Get it. Grasp Reason. He could feel the satiating string of words balancing at the tip of his mind but- he - couldn't- quite- remember- it... almost... touching... it... but... can't... reach... it... so... confused... so... tired... void.. where... was... he... Reason... death... kill... everyone... so... useless... almost... reach...

He couldn't do it. He couldn't find the reason.

Although he couldn't see through the mist of blindness, England could feel that he and America were facing each other, the young boy's face hurt and worried, and in the silence that was slowly driving him mad, the whole room seemed to be grave, quiet, maddening, deathly. Thankfully, America's voice broke through the barrier.

"Not only is Italy, you know, gone, I guess Spain and Romano are stuck in that other time loop, too? You know, because all your magic is lost." England pursed his lips. That's right. Spain and Romano are gone. Idiot. Stupid. Basta-

"I guess so. I must have run out of magic, so of course the portal to the other time loop must be gone," England croaked.

"I hope they're okay," America muttered. The Englishman stayed quiet for a moments, ticking moments, but finally managed to speak.

"Just pray for their safety."

.

"Ha!" Spain laughed as he sliced through a monster with his axe and watched it disappear, "There really are more monsters here than in our time loop, but they're definitely no match to España!" He continued laughing as he kept slicing through more and more.

"Damn it, Spain, stop boasting and keep fighting, ya' bastard," Romano growled as he pulled the trigger on one monster. Metallic slashes and rapid gunshots filled the air. As he watched a monster screech and fade away from his bullets, Romano began to feel his heart race and his body fill with ambrosial adrenaline, but suddenly, as he was feeling the thrill of the fight, his heart painfully tightened and his whole chest collapsed on itself. The scene around him quickly dissolving, a sudden vision of his little brother's body, unmoving and fragile carved its image violently onto his eyes. Frozen and in desperate need for air, Romano stood with his heart slowly but painfully pounding and still lungs now kindling white hot fire. His mind buzzed with the picture of his brother, as delicate as a petal of the Lily, so pale, so white, so hopeless when disconnected. Struggling, Romano tried surfacing from the whirlpool sucking him in slowly to madness and tried crying out, but he found that the only sound he could produce was a dry, hoarse, strain.

"Spai-...," he tried. His hand went limp and the gun in his possession was released. He had fallen. His hand found its way to his chest then clutched the area over his heart. He gasped for air. He was so weak, so tired. Spain, hearing Romano's cry and the thud that followed, turned his head swiftly. His eyes had widened at seeing the nation on the floor, body still.

"Roma!" he cried. Spain looked back to block a blow from the monster with the long handle of his battle axe and threw it back, slashing its forehead. As the monster disappeared, another three took its place, all of them managing to surround the Spaniard. Spain jerked his head around, panicked at looking at all of them. "Roma, just stay down!" he shouted. Then, with one powerful swing all around, he managed to get rid of three with a spin slash to all of their foreheads. After seeing the last one disappear, Spain dropped his long battle axe, leaving it clattering, and ran towards the still Italian. "Roma, Roma?" Spain called as he looked into Romano's face and shook his shoulder violently. "Roma? Romano!" The Italian's eyes were wide and blank, but as Spain took Romano's arm in his hand and put two fingers to his pulse, he let go a sigh of relief. Spain placed his hand to his forehead, under his bangs and stayed still, breathing in and out deeply, trying to calm down his hopping heart.

Then, something inside Spain's head clicked. He started turning his head around the library, trying to look for the return portal made by England. It looked like it had disappeared. "Ay dios mio," he managed under his breath. Sucking in another deep breath, Spain got down from his kneeling position and sat down next to Romano then hurriedly undid his own uniform jacket's buttons. After taking it, he folded the jacket up and slid the makeshift under Romano's head to prop it up. After examining his work, he pursed his lips. "Be alright, okay, Roma?" he muttered as he fixed the white tank top he was now only wearing for a top. Spain, never taking his eyes off the Italian, propped his back up against the bookshelf and breathed slowly in and out, praying that Romano would soon snap out of the shock he seemed to be in.

After a few moments of resting, though, the Spaniard perked up as he heard the door to the library open. His heart skipping a few beats, Spain swiftly got on his feet and hurried over to grab his battle axe which rested near the opening of the alleyway the library's bookshelves made. Then, gripping the handle firmly in his hands, Spain heard the footsteps bounding closer. As soon as Spain had heard the steps almost 5 feet away, he charged out from behind the shelves, but then jolted to a stop. Spain's wide but sparkling green eyes met with another two, surprised, hard, emerald ones.

"Oi, what the hell?" England cried, then he examined his attacker, "Wait, Spain? What the hell? What in God's name are you doing here?" Spain just looked back in panic.

"Arthur?" Spain asked in disbelief.

"Arthur? What the hell are you talking about? Also, what are you doing here?" the Englishman cried out once again. Spain just stared and didn't speak.

"I- I can explain," Spain stuttered. _Oh, no. He saw me. Now what? _Spain thought. The England standing in front of him frowned, furrowed his brows then folded his arms all while eyeing the fidgeting Spaniard.

"Then out with it," England said. Spain felt himself stiffen up with uneasiness, but then let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and straightened his back.

"Okay, then," he started.

.

"So you're telling me you're from another time loop?" Spain just nodded. "And that you're here because apparently something has gone horribly wrong?" Spain nodded. "And you need my magic to help you because now it seems like Romano is ill and you need to go back to your time loop?" Spain, once again, just nodded. The previous tine loop England put two fingers up to his eyes to rub them, his face obviously annoyed or bothered. "That's absolutely absurd."

"No, believe me!" Spain cried desperately. "Romano's very sick and it was most likely because something back in our time loop happened! Please, help us!" At this outcry, England's eyes opened and flashed with anger.

"My time loop is already in big trouble, and you're here worrying about yours?" England spat. Spain pursed his lips. "Right now, I have to deal with a large crisis. I don't need to help you or future dying Romano or whatever. I have other more important things to do, thank you very much so just find your own goddamned way out. Don't be so selfish. So please, leave as soon as possible. Goodbye and happy hunting." With this, England turned his back on the Spaniard and left the library, leaving Spain to his own buzzing, angry thoughts and a sick Romano.

"Que se joda," Spain hissed to the air.

Then, after a minute or two, Spain just laughed nervously to himself, "Geez, he's so mean." After standing in thought of what he could possibly do next, he heard his Italian friend stir. Spain, turning then feeling a rush of relief, hurriedly ran over to a muttering Romano. "Romano? Roma?" Romano groaned, one hand still clutching his chest.

"Something," came Romano's weak, pained voice, "Something happened to Veneziano. We need to get up and get back." Romano struggled to get up from his lying down position, but grunted and clutched his chest harder.

"No, no, no, no, no. Stay down, Romano. You're hurt," Spain said as he tenderly took Romano's shoulders and placed his head back onto the folded jacket.

"But I have to help Veneziano," Romano dazedly said.

"I know you do, but please, just listen to what I have to say." Romano's cloudy eyes held onto Spain for a moment before he released his gaze and looked back up at the ceiling. Seeing that Romano was now quiet, Spain, with a quiet voice, explained the disappearance of England's portal and his encounter with the second time loop's England.

"Damn bastard," Romano spat, "Let me go talk to him." Romano attempted getting up again, but Spain just laid him back down.

"Romano, please don't. It won't do us any good if you happen to collapse again," Spain said. Romano, staring at the ceiling, bit his bottom lip then felt something warm rush up to his eyes and wetly spill onto his face. Spain's eyes widened. Using his thumb, the Spaniard wiped away a tear. "Hey, Romano," he muttered, "What's up?"

"I can't do anything helpful, damn it," the Italian muttered. Spain tilted his head a bit.

"And what makes you say that?" he asked. Romano took in a deep breath and closed his hands into fists.

"I haven't done anything to help fight whatever we're up against," the boy started started, "I haven't ever been in the recent time loops to help, and now that I'm here, I can't fight often. I can't cook or comfort, and I can't make plans like America or do magic like England. I can't be like Russia and become strong to fight off all the monsters, and I can't be like Germany." Romano felt himself choke on a sob. "I can't be like that damned potato idiot and help my own brother when he needed someone to hang onto, to help keep his hand on sanity the most, but all I did was wait as new memories spilled into my mind. I'm so fucking useless." Romano put his hand on his forehead as he continued to sniffle. " I'm so useless," he repeated, "Austria thought so, so he gave me to you. You thought I was useless when I couldn't fucking clean a damn thing. Everyone thinks so, damn it!" Romano, grit his teeth as hot tears spilled. "Damn it," Romano whispered. Watching with heavy eyes, Spain kept witnessing the broken boy continue to sob and curse himself, but then thinking that it was enough, he shook his head and placed a comforting, strong hand on the boy's hand.

"Romano, it's not anything like that. It was never anything like that. I know you feel useless now, but you know, everyone gets their time to shine. Just know, out of all the years I have been alive, in times like these, no one has ever been not important, especially you. Oh, Roma, in the past, you have never been useless. Klutzy and adorable? Yes, but not useless. Austria just couldn't handle you little two troublemakers at the same time, so that's why he gave you to me, and oh, I'm so thankful for that. Anyways, all you have to know is that you will have your chance. You just haven't found out what kind of role you can play yet, but when you do, you will definitely help all of us, especially Ita-chan, okay? " The Italian, hearing this, lowered his hand that was over his forehead and slowly looked to his taller, strong, confident boss. Spain smiled. Now that he looked at him in detail, his eyes were pretty haggard, similar to when he used to be a conquistador, but nevertheless, his eyes still glowed that summery green. His dark hair was matted and caked with some blood in places, but there were still locks that spunkily curled. His skin was a bit paler and sickly, but still, his crooked, stupidly optimistic grin was still half on his face. The Italian felt his own soul start to smile and a new strength grew inside of him. Grunting, Romano slowly propped himself up and found that he was able to sit back up. Looking directly into Spain's eyes, Romano nodded.

"Yeah," Romano stuttered. There was a pause. "Damn it! I have to wait? Whatever, I'll definitely be an important part to this no matter what. Watch, Spain. Compared to the rest of them, I'll definitely be the one to save us all. I'll help Veneziano and all of us will become happy and leave this place, or so help me I will fuck this whole mansion shit up." Spain's face lit up, his haggard look almost disappearing immediately at Romano returning to himself. Almost overwhelmed with joy, Spain threw his arms around the Italian nation.

"Oh, Romano! I'm so glad my little henchman is back to normal and healthy! Aw!" At this gesture, the Italian nation's eyes widened and immediately started fighting back.

"Oi, get off of me! No, stop!" A very loud, drawn out "chigi" was screamed and Romano, fighting with all his might, managed to defeat Spain. Then, in the playful fighting of the two, a sophisticated, gentlemanly voice broke the joyful atmosphere.

"H-Hey," the English voice stuttered, "if you two love birds would stop fighting, I have something to say to you." The two men froze in their position which was Romano sitting on top of Spain who in turn was on his stomach, groaning. The both of them looked up, green eyes on green.

"Oh, it's you. What the hell do _you _want," Romano spat. The previous-time-loop England just exhaled, looked to the side, and fidgeted with his uniform's tie uneasily.

"Well, I felt as if I was a bit harsh on you," he began. After a pause, England looked at the two. "Look, I thought that if maybe you two came with me to help the lot of us in this time loop, maybe you both would help enlighten us in what to do. We kind of are in a panic at the moment." As soon as the words came of out of England's mouth, Romano just bitterly laughed.

"Us? Help _you_? You know what? That's really funny you stinky son of a di-…" Spain jolted up and tripped Romano onto his back before the boy could ruin yet again another life-saving encounter and enthusiastically smiled and replied.

"Of course!" Spain laughed, "Maybe we can help you, and in turn you could help us, no? Alright, let's go Roma! We need to get home to Ita-chan and the others!" Romano just groaned in response, and England frowned and shook his head.

"Thank you for your offer because right now, we don't know what to do." He let out a sigh. "After all, Italy, or at least Veneziano, is dead."

* * *

**HetaOni Ending: To Stay Alive**

**"To Despise One's Shadow"**

**End.**

**Continue to Chapter 7?**

* * *

_(Ah =w= IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO FINISH THIS ONE; I'M SO SORRY! I had so many projects since its end of term and graduation soon QwQ I hope you guys enjoy this one! Reviews are amazing for me, and any problems pointed out will be fixed. I will also love you forever. Thanks for being so patient and loving! ~Sharlee))_


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